The Candyman
by Deathcrest
Summary: Roy thought that the night would be just like any typical night. He thought wrong.


**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA. Too bad.**

_AN: To my readers, this is a story based on something I made up while chewing bubble gum. Weird, huh? Anyway, I hope you all like this little spooky story._

* * *

The moment he heard the unmistakable sound of chewing gum, Roy knew he was in for it. Not only was he going to spend the night in the office, alone and without his wife and most trusted subordinate by his side, but he was now forced to spend a series of hours signing paperwork while listening to a bored Edward chewing a gum. And there was nothing more horrifying than a bored Edward.

Trying to ignore the horrible sound, Roy immersed himself in his paperwork, imagining that every stroke of his pen on the sheet was a knife shredding Edward's bubble gum into unchewable pieces. Glancing at the clock hanging by the office wall, Roy noted that it was still 11:36 pm. His shift was until 6 am, and with Riza taking a day off because of her 'womanly torture', Roy had to endure another six and half hours with Ed, whose shift was the same as his. These were times Roy cursed not being someone of a higher rank. If he was, he'd make sure that he'll never spend a night with a bored Ed.

It wasn't that Roy hated the boy. On the contrary, he loved the Elric brothers like they were his own sons. Still, there were days that not even his fondness for the kid can calm his irritation when Ed began to do something that would inevitably upset him. Roy was quite sure that Ed was making his chewing a gum louder than normal to annoy him. The kid could be maddening when he was bored.

Sighing, he ignored the loud crunch of Ed's teeth against each other and focused on the piles of paper on his desk. For a few minutes, Roy had managed to block out the sound and was now finishing his third set of paperwork. He was about to start on his fourth when he suddenly heard the inimitable sound of a bubble gum pop. Eyes wide with disbelief, he looked up. And found Edward smirking, a smudge of bubble gum on his upper lip.

"Did you just-?" He trailed off when Ed began to chew again, and blew a large pink bubble until it popped, sending out a distinctive bang inside the quiet room.

"Did I do what?" Edward asked innocently.

Cursing, Roy shook his head. "You're insufferable."

Edward laughed and began chewing again. Roy managed to control his anger. He didn't want his name to end up in the morning newspaper for homicide because of a bubble gum. He rubbed his temple and resumed signing the paperwork.

The pop sounded again; Roy glared at Ed. "Stop it, Fullmetal."

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but were you annoyed?" Ed asked mockingly.

Roy harrumphed and raised his head. "Me, annoyed? I think not. You are merely violating protocols, Fullmetal."

Ed raised a brow. "Protocol? Does the military now forbid chewing bubble gum? What's next? Are they going to forbid wearing red?" Ed taunted, not minding the paperwork he had to sign, too.

The kid was doing a good job of annoying him right now. Roy had to restrain himself from grabbing his gloves and burn the skin off him. Instead, he scowled darkly at the boy. "No, Fullmetal. You are disturbing the quiet of the office, and that is unacceptable."

"Oh shut it, old man." Ed countered, putting his feet on top of his desk and chewing loudly.

Roy sucked in a groan of frustration and returned to his paperwork. His anger and irritation was clearly evident in the way he forcefully wrote his signature, often leaving ink marks on the next page. Yet he did not mind; bent on giving off steam.

This went on for ages, and his anger soon faded. In the quiet of the office, Roy's signing was now more calm and he felt the coming of sleep. Looking up, he watched as Ed's eyelids began to drop. He looked at the clock and found it nearing 2 am. Seeing the kid's exhaustion, Roy smiled fondly at him. When Ed opened his eyes once more and looked at him, Roy quickly wiped off the smile that was so sure to make Ed's head grow bigger.

"Tired?" Roy asked in mock-uncaring voice.

"Yeah." Ed admitted, rubbing his face. Roy grinned at him. "Let's get some coffee, kid."

"Okay." Ed answered as Roy stood, stretching his legs as he did so. He pulled the keys out of the desk drawer and helped Ed stand from his position on the desk. He half-hauled the young alchemist by the soldier as they both exited the office, Roy locking it in the process.

The silent hallway was dimly lit by a few lights, giving out shadows in most areas. In the distance, they could hear the howl of a wolf, calling for its mate. Slowly, they walked towards the canteen on the floor below them. Their walk was silent as both calmly surveyed the quiet floor. The sound of their footsteps against marble floor was stark contrast against the silence.

"You'd think that there'd be people in this building. Even if they were just the janitors." Ed muttered, annoyed by the quiet. Roy grunted his agreement, sympathizing with the kid's love for bustle.

"The cleaning staff usually stay in their area by the canteen. Don't worry, Fullmetal. I'm here to protect you from the boogeyman." Roy lightly taunted. Ed glared at him before looking away as he crossed his arms and pouted.

"I'm not scared."

"Of course you aren't." Roy said sarcastically. They continued the silence as they went down the stairs, and arrived at the ground floor.

The whole floor, like the one above it, was dimly lit and was quite dark. Seeing the canteen, they made their way for it. As they did, the red light of the sentry alarms and security cameras flickered at them. Both ignored it and went inside the canteen, Roy making his way to the espresso maker as Ed took a seat. Roy brought out two mugs and set it next to the maker as he added coffee into the it. Ed was beginning to trace the designs on the table in boredom, as Roy waited for the espresso maker to finish.

"Do you want it black?" Roy asked as he pulled out a milk container.

"Nope, thanks." Ed answered. When the maker finished, Roy pulled the glass kettle and poured both mugs with black coffee. He added sugar to both and brought them to where Ed was currently killing himself with boredom. He placed one in front of the kid as they both stirred the hot beverage. Roy sipped on his coffee, feeling the hot drink slide into his throat and the effect of the caffeine waking his brain up.

For a few moments, they just sat there, sipping their coffee when they heard the distinct sound of a human voice. In fact, two human voices. Curious, and infinitely bored, the two stared at each other before listening to the conversation.

"...I'm telling you, man, the story's true! Edgar, from the fourth floor, said that he once woke up during his sleep and went out of the quarters to go to the canteen to eat. While he was eating, he heard the sound of someone walking. I swear, man, it freaked me out as much as it did him!" One of the voices said. Roy raised a brow.

"You believed him, Carl? I thought you were a no-nonsense guy!" The other voice answered in a mocking tone. The first voice, Carl, countered.

"I am, but I saw what Edgar was talking about! When he was eating, he came back up 'cause he wanted to eat in his room but when he passed by the stairs, he said he saw someone standing by the rails! At first, he thought it was just another worker, but he knew it wasn't 'cause the guy was not in uniform. He was dressed in dark rags and he was holding something by his hand. Edgar called out to him, but all he got was a rattling noise, like a sack of marbles being shook, you know?"

"And what then? Did this guy be some kind of ghost and all that crap?" The second voice taunted.

"I'm tellin' yah Ethan, the guy was not human. 'Cause when Edgar called out to him, the guy just gave out a rattle that scared the hell out of him." Carl then gave out a throaty, rattling sound that gave Roy chills. Seeing Edward, and the goosebumps on the kid's arms, he knew it affected him as well.

"Stop it, dude. You're freaking me out. It's already late at night and you're making me pee my pants." Ethan muttered, his voice a mixture of irritation and fear.

"Sorry, dude. Anyway, let's finish cleaning this spot and get the hell out of here." Carl suggested and they heard Ethan answer in agreement.

Roy looked at Ed, who was now staring with wide eyes at him, all trace of sleep gone. He downed the last of his coffee and stood. Ed stared at him with unblinking eyes.

"Now, I'm scared."

Roy groaned as he wiped a hand over his face. "It's just a story, Edward. There is no such thing as a marble-carrying ghost out there. Come on, I got a lot of paperwork to catch up with."

Ed reluctantly stood and followed Roy out. The electronic clock in the canteen read 3 am as both passed under it on their way back. The whole floor seemed darker and quieter as they stood outside the canteen. Ed was looking around wildly, fumbling with his red coat. Roy, too, couldn't help the spike of fear that went up inside him as he surveyed the quiet darkness that enveloped them like an evil cloud.

"Come on." Roy said to Ed as he began walking back to their office. Ed marched up to walk next to Roy, comforted by the man's presence.

As they both headed for the stairs, a rattle-like sound invaded the silence. Both stopped dead in their tracks, their bodies tense. Roy could feel the hair on his nape stand on end. The sound came from somewhere down the dark hallway just to the right of them, echoing like a beckoning sound of horror. Ed's face was pale with surprise and fear, his eyes going all around like a billiard ball.

"What was that?" Ed whispered, panic in his voice.

"I don't know." Roy answered in the same quiet voice as he stood unmoving, his eyes flickering to and fro in the dark. Slowly, he turned his head and glanced behind him.

There, hiding in the shadows, was a pair of legs.

Roy sucked in a shocked gasp as he stared at the pair of legs, the upper parts of the body hidden by the darkness. From his side, he could hear another gasp, knowing it was Ed.

A hand slowly descended from the darkness, and it held something in it. From his position, Roy could see it was a transparent pouch, and inside were not the marbles that the two janitors, Ethan and Carl, talked about, but a bunch of circular and colored gums.

The rattle-sound came again, and this time, Roy heard it come from the pair of legs.

Roy almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand grab his. It took a moment for him to realize it was Ed and that the boy was pulling at it furtively. He glanced at his direction, and saw him, gold eyes wide, whispering fiercely in a horrified voice.

"Let's get out of here."

Roy turned back, but kept his eyes on his peripheral vision. He took a step forward, and was relieved that the pair of legs hadn't moved. He took another, and another, with Ed by his side until he was now running through the dark hallways as fast as they can.

Within moments, they burst into the office room and without pause, locked it back. Roy and Ed made their way as fast as possible to the farthest corner of the office. Roy opened his drawer and pulled out a knife and his gloves and wore them. Ed was also doing the same.

"Do you think that was...?" Ed's voice faded when the lights went out.

"I think it was..." Roy answered, his voice trailing away as his eyes caught sight of a pair of pants by the door. Then came the rattle-sound.

Without thinking, Roy snapped his fingers and blasted a hole right through the wall of his office. As debris erupted, Roy grabbed Edward by the shoulder and leaped through the gap. Thanking whoever was listening that his office was only on the second floor, Roy and Edward landed on the cement pavement and without noticing the pain in their feet and legs, both ran away from the building without looking back, screaming all the way like a couple of high school girls.

* * *

"I can't believe those two fell for it!" Jean Havoc yelled happily as the lights turned on. He saw Kain Fuery, who had played the part of the "Candyman", grinning like a kid by the door. Even Vato Falman was doubling up with laughter. To think that Roy Mustang and Edward Elric, two of the most powerful and most feared alchemists in the whole word, were scared almost to death by a ghost story, a pair of pants, and a pouch full of marbles. The whole damn thing was hilarious.

"Come on, let's go home. I really need some shut-eye." He said when the laughter had ended. Kain and Vato nodded, and they all packed their things with Kain changing from his costume to his casual attire. As they turned off the lights and exited the office, the three of them were whistling happily as they made their way down the hall.

They all exited the building, the glass doors locking in place. Jean turned to his two friends and waved his goodbye, watching the two of them leave. Still grinning like a madman, Jean began to leave the premises when his car keys fell from his pants and down the ground. Cursing, Jean bent to pick it up. As he was just about to straighten, he took a glance at the entrance. He froze.

There, just behind the glass doors, were a pair of pants. And when Jean looked up, there was a hand pressed to the glass. It was slicked with a red color that was dangerously close to blood. Jean stared, scared, as the hand slowly slid down the glass, the red color trailing. It disappeared and when it returned, there was a pouch of marble-like bubblegums by its hand.

That night, when he finally reached home, Jean slept with the lights turned on and a gun under his pillow.

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_AN: I didn't think that it was really scary. Still, I gotta try. Anyway, I'd like to hear what you all think!_


End file.
